Nature and the Marketplace: Capturing The Value Of Ecosystem Services

Book Description

In recent years, scientists have begun to focus on the idea that healthy, functioning ecosystems provide essential services to human populations, ranging from water purification to food and medicine to climate regulation. Lacking a healthy environment, these services would have to be provided through mechanical means, at a tremendous economic and social cost.

Nature and the Marketplace examines the controversial proposition that markets should be designed to capture the value of those services. Written by an economist with a background in business, it evaluates the real prospects for various of nature's marketable services to "turn profits" at levels that exceed the profits expected from alternative, ecologically destructive, business activities. The author:

describes the infrastructure that natural systems provide, how we depend on it, and how we are affecting it
explains the market mechanism and how it can lead to more efficient resource use
looks at key economic activities-such as ecotourism, bioprospecting, and carbon sequestration-where market forces can provide incentives for conservation
examines policy options other than the market, such as pollution credits and mitigation banking
considers the issue of sustainability and equity between generations

Nature and the Marketplace presents an accessible introduction to the concept of ecosystem services and the economics of the environment. It offers a clear assessment of how market approaches can be used to protect the environment, and illustrates that with a number of cases in which the value of ecosystems has actually been captured by markets.

The book offers a straightforward business economic analysis of conservation issues, eschewing romantic notions about ecosystem preservation in favor of real-world economic solutions. It will be an eye-opening work for professionals, students, and scholars in conservation biology, ecology, environmental economics, environmental policy, and related fields.

Customer Reviews:

trading pollution permits.......2006-06-28

Heal explains how one might put a value on an ecosystem, or parts thereof. It's a relatively recent approach that attempts to avoid a tragedy of the commons with respect to the environment, be it local or even global.

A very useful idea described is the trading of pollution permits. The latter are rights to pollute. The premise is that instead of a government trying to mandate a minimum pollution level, it lets a free market determine this, by giving monetary value to permits. So that a company has incentive to develop or use innovative ways to minimise its pollution. Hence being able to sell any net gains to others. This also avoids the government trying to set a value on a permit.

The book suggests that carbon permits might be crucial in battling global warming.

State Regulation and the Politics of Public Service: The Case of the Water Industry (Employment and Work Relations in Context)

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State Regulation and the Politics of Public Service: The Case of the Water Industry (Employment and Work Relations in Context)
G. Taylor
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Public Policy | Government | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Social Policy | Government | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Public Utilities | Administrative Law | Law | Subjects | Books

Water Supply | Environment | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Water | Conservation | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Water Supply & Land Use | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0720123127

Book Description

This text addresses the question of public service in the context of privatization, with specific reference to the water industry. The notion of public service is examined both theoretically and historically, thereby placing the development of the public utilities in a broader frame than usual. The way in which public services are part of a complicated state relation that has developed throughout the 20th century is systematically investigated, opening up a series of questions of direct relevance for current debates about public ownership and nationalization.

Operations Management: Producing Goods & Services

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Operations Management: Producing Goods & Services
Donald Waters
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall (UK)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Production & Operations | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Quality Control | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0201398494

Community Water, Community Management: From System to Service in Rural Areas

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Community Water, Community Management: From System to Service in Rural Areas
Ton Schouten , and Patrick Moriarty
Manufacturer: Practical Action
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Water Supply | Environment | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Water Supply & Land Use | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

Natural Resources | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1853395641

Book Description

* for post-graduate students, and implementers and managers of water supply systems
* based on more than 20 years practical experience
* 22 communities in 6 countries studied

Community management has become the leading concept for implementing water supply systems in rural areas in developing countries. In the early days it was seen as the answer to large-scale breakdown of water supply systems and the failure of government either to provide clean water itself or to devise a system whereby other agencies would supply it reliably and consistently. Now, after more than two decades of applying the concept, it is time to look back and consider the opportunities and constraints of community management in bringing water to the millions of people who need it. Is community management the right way to increase both the sustainability of water supply systems and the coverage of safe and reliable water supply in rural areas?

This book is based on the experience gained over twenty years of working to strengthen the capacities of rural communities to manage their own water supply systems. The day-to-day experiences of 22 communities in six different countries â€“ with differing geographical, socio-economic and cultural settings â€“ are at the heart of this book. Supplemented with research findings, it shows the power and creativity with which community people work to keep their water supply systems operational, and it also shows their struggle and difficulties. The authors bring to life the little things that can go wrong, the nitty-gritty details that are so crucial in making community management work, with clear sympathy for the people in the communities and the project staff working with them.

Countries featured: Kenya, Colombia, Guatemala, Cameroon, Pakistan, Nepal.

Actor Analysis for Water Resources Management: Putting the promise into practise

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Actor Analysis for Water Resources Management: Putting the promise into practise
Leon Hermans
Manufacturer: Eburon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Urban Planning & Development | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Water Supply | Environment | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Product Description

Despite serious problems, policy makers seem to make scant use of the knowledge that is available with water experts. Conversely, water experts face the task of finding out how they should position themselves to ensure that their analysis contributes to policy making. This book offers a potentially promising tool to support water experts, as it can be used to investigate the multi-actor policy making setting in which water experts find themselves. This is likely to help water experts design and execute analyses that are relevant to policy makers.

Balancing Collections Performance and Service Ratings:: Assessing the Impact of Policies at Municipal and Cooperative Utilities

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Balancing Collections Performance and Service Ratings:: Assessing the Impact of Policies at Municipal and Cooperative Utilities
Steven E. Seger
Manufacturer: American Water Works Research Foundation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Company Profiles | Biography & History | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Natural Resources | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Environmental Science | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

Water Supply & Land Use | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

Water Supply | Environment | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Water | Conservation | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

General | Urban Planning & Development | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 158321416X

Book Description

It is understood that not-for-profit water, wastewater, electric, and natural gas utilities are judged by multiple factors. Two dominant performance indicators are fiscal health and customer satisfaction. The chapters in this book contain 25 Key Lessons concerning the impact of credit and collections policies on revenues and customer satisfaction ratings at not-for-profit utilities. The conclusions validate some historical views, dispel other myths thought to be obvious or assumed, and contradict a few long-held beliefs. These lessons provide local officials/directors and managers with information of substance they can make use of while formulating policies and operational procedures. Lessons include prioritizing collections or service, applications for service, CDs, credit scoring, late fees, bad checks, late fees and shut-offs, plus others.

Benchmarking Performance Indicators for Water and Wastewater Utilities: : Survey and Analysis

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Benchmarking Performance Indicators for Water and Wastewater Utilities: : Survey and Analysis
Angela K. Lafferty , and William C. Lauer
Manufacturer: American Water Works Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Company Profiles | Biography & History | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Production & Operations | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Environmental Science | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Water Supply & Land Use | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

Water Supply | Environment | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

General | Urban Planning & Development | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 158321366X

Book Description

Utilizing the 22 performance indicators described in the 2003 publication, Selection and Definition of Performance Indicators for Water and Wastewater Utilities (ISBN 1-58321-304-x), this report presents the summary and comparative analyses on each performance indicator. The data will help participating utilities improve their operational efficiency and effectiveness plus help them see where they stand in relation to their industry peer group. (Report produced by Qual-Serv Benchmarking Program - a joint program between AWWA and WEF)

Benchmarking Water Utility Customer Relations Best Practices

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Benchmarking Water Utility Customer Relations Best Practices
Roger Patrick , and Christine Kozlosky
Manufacturer: American Water Works Research Foundation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Customer Service | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Human Resources & Personnel Management | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Natural Resources | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Environmental Science | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

Water Supply & Land Use | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

Water Supply | Environment | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

General | Urban Planning & Development | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1583214267

Book Description

This project had three primary objectives, all with the ultimate goal of improving customer satisfaction and utility efficiency: 1. To identify customer relations best practices from other relevant organizations; 2. To identify metrics for both internal performance tracking and external comparison; 3. To develop tools that will enable water utilities to improve customer relations. Case studies are presented on many of the best performing organizations, as well as Â“mini case studiesÂ” focused on best practices in specific functions.

Building and Using a Groundwater Database

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Building and Using a Groundwater Database
Garry Rowe , and Sylvia J. Dulaney
Manufacturer: CRC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Water Supply | Environment | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Water Supply & Land Use | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Operating Systems | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0873714040

Book Description

Building and Using a Groundwater Database is an introductory book that focuses on the fundamentals of groundwater database use. It is an excellent guide for people who collect and use groundwater quality data, hydrogeological data, and general geological data, as well as people who are required to prepare information about groundwater resources for others to use. The book also serves as a textbook for computer-based hydrogeology courses. Many university courses now make use of computerized groundwater data, yet no textbook exists to guide students in database use. Building and Using a Groundwater Database provides detailed information regarding the steps and perspectives required to create a database and use it for groundwater management, land use practices, planning, cleanups, site investigations, and general hydrogeologic reporting. The book is structured to take the reader from the foundations of database development through maintenance and everyday use of the database. Actual examples from selected case studies are used to illustrate database principles. This book is unique in that it deals with the management and structuring of groundwater data, as opposed to the collection and interpretation of data. It illustrates how database software managers can be integrated with groundwater software tools. Building and Using a Groundwater Database provides consultants, engineers, public officials, university instructors, local and municipal water utilities, and banking and loan institutions with a clear, concise guide to using groundwater databases.

Clean up Iowa's waters. (Our View).(Column) : An article from: Business Record (Des Moines)

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Clean up Iowa's waters. (Our View).(Column) : An article from: Business Record (Des Moines)

Manufacturer: Business Publication Corp.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Average customer rating:

A Beautiful Book that Covers a Place that May Not be here long.

Beautifully done, very interesting

Birds of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Arctic Wings

Birds of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Arctic Wings: Birds of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Manufacturer: Mountaineers Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Nature & Wildlife | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Carter, Jimmy | ( C ) | Authors, A-Z | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
General | Birdwatching | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Seasons of Life and Land

Between the Wingtips: The Secret Life of Birds

The Shorebird Guide

Wings of Spring: Courtship, Nesting, and Fledging

A Naturalist's Guide to the Arctic

ASIN: 0898869757

Book Description

A celebration in word and image of the birds who return each year to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to nest—and how they link every point on the globe • 200 color photos from award-winning nature photographers Subhankar Banerjee, Steven Kazlowski, and Arthur Morris • Essays/text contributions by noted writers, biologists, and conservationists including David Allen Sibley, Debbie Miller, Kenn Kaufmann, and President Jimmy Carter, CD Audio by birdsong recordist, Martyn Stewart • Life histories of individual bird species from every major group including shorebirds, songbirds, and raptors plus dramatic stories of migration and strategies for survival A Buff-breasted sandpiper running along a barrier beach in the Carolinas is only mid-way in an annual journey of incredible magnitude—one that takes it from its nesting ground in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to its winter quarters on the pampas of South America. The Yellow wagtail begins life in a willow thicket in the Arctic but winters in Indonesia, where its return each year signals rice farmers to begin their spring planting. The ecosystems of the world are linked by birds, and nowhere is that more apparent than the Arctic Refuge, where more than 180 species converge from six continents and all fifty states to nest and rear their young. The unique habitats of the Arctic Refuge and the intense Arctic summer produce a rich diet that makes the incredible migrations worthwhile.

Essays include DAVID ALLEN SIBLEY on the grand dance of avian migration and the sense of time and place on the earth that it provides; DEBBIE MILLER tells of how the incredible journey of songbirds from the Arctic Refuge and back connects the world's habitats—and its people—together; biologist MARK WILSON shares his story of discovery canoeing down the Refuge's Canning River; STANLEY E. SENNER, Vice President of Audubon Alaska, explains the ecological importance of the region and how oil development has impacted the North Slope; and ROBERT THOMPSON, an Inupiat wildlife guide, reveals the relationship between birds and native culture.

Three photographers contributed to this project: SUBHANKAR BANERJEE, author of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Seasons of Life and Land, has had his images featured in major museums such as the Smithsonian Institute of Natural History and in magazines such as Vanity Fair; nature photographer STEVEN KAZLOWSKI was a finalist for Wildlife magazine's 2004 Wildlife Photographer of the Year award. Among his previous books are Alaska Wildlife Impressions and Bears of the North; ARTHUR MORRIS specializes in bird photography and has had more than 11,000 of his photos published in magazine such as American Bird, Audobon, National Geographic, Outdoor Photographer and many more.

Arctic Wings is produced jointly by The Mountaineers Books and Manomet Center for Conservation Science. It is published in the tradition of Seasons of Life and Land—a book (photography by Subhankar Banerjee) that has won critical acclaim and has helped inform the debate over opening the Arctic Refuge to oil drilling.

Customer Reviews:

A Beautiful Book that Covers a Place that May Not be here long........2006-10-19

This beautifully illustrated book is written by a collection of authors who have a love affair going with the birds of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Their writing, each on a different subject is filled with amazement, wonder and love for the area and its birdlife.

On the other side is a whole series of comments about protecting this environment and the thrust for development being urged by the oil companies and the Bush administration. Unfortunately, in the long run, I think that the environmentalists will lose. The 'God given rights' of the people to have inexpensive gasoline for their SUV's leads to power by the voting booth.

The book itself is of large format, printed on a very heavy paper with a printing quality that rivals photographs themselves. It is a beautiful book. There is also a CD included with the book that has recordings of 67 bird boices. This can be played as a single 60 minute recording, or you can select individual tracks of bird species.

Beautifully done, very interesting.......2006-08-31

Absolutely beautifully done with brilliant colors and well-composed pictures this is a great joy to just look through for all bird lovers or fans of the Arctic Refuge area. But it does not stop there. The writers share their experiences in an excellent educational yet highly readable treatise on their particular subject. Together they introduce the fascinating world of Arctic birds to the reader in a way that is both informative and fun. So, how to you finish off such an excellent book? They added a CD in the back with various bird calls, songs, and peeps. Arctic Wings: Birds of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is highly recommended and a real joy to have around even just for the pleasure of picking it up once in a while and enjoying the pictures.

Birds of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.......2006-08-15

If you love: a)nature photography, b)the Arctic, and c)birds - this book is for you. It is over-sized and filled with beautiful colored photographs of birds who come to breed in the Arctic. Plus, there are migration maps and essays telling you how the birds got to the Arctic. And there is a CD with sounds of the Arctic and many of the birds pictured in the book. It is a wonderful feast for the senses.

Arctic Wings.......2006-08-12

This gorgeous book on the birds of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge combines writing by a variety of authors, from birding luminary David Sibley to local Native American residents, with many outstanding photographs. Overall, it provides a considerable amount of information on the bird species appearing in the ANWR and the effects that oil drilling might have on them. While some segments are more gracefully written than others, all are interesting.

Along with the book is a CD of birdsongs and ambient sounds of the region.

Birds of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.......2006-08-07

Pacific, Central, Mississippi and Atlantic North American Flyways converge on the North Slope of Alaska and Yukon Territory. The area encompasses many ecosystems - river deltas and coastal wetlands, tundra, mountains, boreal forest; inshore waters, barrier islands, beaches and spits and coastal lagoons. Diverse and complex spread over 7.89 million square hectometers (19.5 million ac). The North Slope is a soundshed, viewshed, and the temporary annual residence for at least 194 birds - who visit, but not stay. Some fly almost 29,000 kilometers (18,000 mi), each year, for the round trip. The area is also home to moose, caribou, wolverines, arctic fox, bears and wolves.

US automobile companies and related industries have effectively been on welfare for most of the 20th and the 21st centuries - dependent on "cheap" oil. Perverse subsidies that function as disinvestments threaten to leave the arctic environment and US economy worse off. As pointed out by Hawken, Lovins and Lovins (1999) in Natural Capitalism and von Weizsacker, Lovins and Lovins (1997) in Factor Four: Doubling Wealth, Halving Resource Use, if you want to cut your costs by one-half or double your profit, then double your efficiency. The North Slope sustainably functions best as wilderness.

Rather than getting close to the Arctic tundra by "sitting behind an internal combustion engine pick up truck in midtown traffic," this is about minimizing human impact on the North Slope by becoming better informed about some of the wild visitors. A CD provides from a few seconds up to 14 minutes (60 minutes of continual play) of the sounds of 67 different birds of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The large 28 x 28 cm format helps bring the North Slope alive, everything but cool wind in your face and crisp smells wafting off the tundra.

After the introduction, the book is organized according to Loons and Waterfowl; Hawks, Eagles and Falcons; Shorebirds; Gulls, Terns and Jaegers; Owls; Land Birds and Winter Birds. President Jimmy Carter provides the Foreward. Multiple authors and photographers provide Cultural Reflections, Landscape of the Future, After an Arctic Season and Birders in the Scope.

Recognizing there is a direct connection between local birds throughout North America and the North Slope, this reinforces the need for efficiency and use of renewable energy, and brings you one giant step closer to an "aha" moment.

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